New Super Eagles‘ invitee, Olusegun Olakunle has revealed how his days in the Nigerian under-17 squad, Golden Eaglets, and a short stint playing in Denmark prepared him towards becoming a senior national team player.
Sports247 reports that, although he has been playing at Krasnodar of Russia since 2022 and was converted to be a right-wing-back, the Ilorin-born lad recalls how his career got off to a glorious start when he played as a striker in Denmark and he netted many goals for his club.
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Olakunle also recalled how he scaled rigorous trials to make the Eaglets’ final squad list to the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil, from where he moved to Vista Gelendhik in the lower division of Denmark, but spent only a few months before he was signed on by Fremad Amager in the Dannish top-flight.
It was at Amager that Olakunle achieved his best career statistics so far at club level, as he went on to notch home nine goals in 34 matches during the 2020/2021 season and caught the eyes of some top clubs across the border.
That was how Olakunle soon got on his way to Botev Plovdiv of Bulgaria, where he spent the first half of the 2021/2022 season but was later loaned to Krasnodar’s second team, and he was promptly converted from playing as an attacker into his current role as a full back with their senior squad, which he signed fully for on April 2, 2022.
With his development and career progression appearing to be fast-tracked, Olakunle admitted he initially had doubts over his official inclusion in the Super Eagles’ roster for Friday’s international friendly against Russia.
Now that it has proven to be real, Olakunle acknowledged that it is a huge honour for him to be counted among the current set of Nigeria’s senior national team stars.
The 23-year-old lad, who has scored three goals in 28 matches across all competitions for Krasnodar this season, admitted: “Playing for the national team is what all players want.
“So, finding myself now in the Super Eagles is a privilege and honour for me. It’s not by much power or how I can play, but I believe I can do better. I just have to show myself now that I am in the senior camp.”
Olakunle, who scored in the Eaglets’ 3-1 loss to Netherlands during their round of 16 match at the 2019 Cadet Mundial in Brazil, added that he now has to justify the courage and confidence that members of his family gave him when they encouraged him not to think of himself as too young to be in the Super Eagles.
The soft-spoken youngster disclosed further, “I have to prove the quality I have and show everyone that I’m qualified to play for the Super Eagles … especially so that I don’t disappoint people who believe I’m qualified to be here.
“When I received the message, I was thinking it is too early for me; but my family told me that I should not think like that. They said I should just go there and do my job as usual. Being the professional that I am.”
He then reflected on his progression through the years and across various stages of the game – from the under-15 national team, Baby Eagles, to the Eaglets, then getting his professional debut in Denmark, which he described as the foundation for everything he has achieved in the round leather game.
Olakunle recounted, “I played for the under-15 team back then in 2017, but that was like a child’s game at that time … nothing serious back then.
But, when I went for trials in the under-17 camp, that was in 2019, I saw something different. There were thousands of players who were invited to the camp. It was very hard and intensive, but I was able to show myself and prove what I could do.
“So, I was part of the team that went for the qualifiers. We went for the Nations Cup, where I won the highest goal scorer award, and we were able to take the ticket to the World Cup in Brazil 2019. I was there also, but we were knocked out in the round of 16.
“Despite it all, I’ve made a lot of progress, and I’m now happy to be in the senior national team. It’s a privilege, because every player in the local league wants to be here.”
Olakunle concluded by recollecting how his rapid progression from one club to another also laid a solid ground for him to stabilise his career, starting with the huge levels of experience he got when he started out in Denmark.
“I was first in Denmark, where I made my debut abroad, and it was a big privilege for me. It was a great opportunity for me, and I felt so good playing in Demark.
“I played about 24 games, and I had 18 goals, with six assists. It was a great season for me back then, and it prepared me for where I am now,” concluded Olakunle, who has two goals in 19 Russisn league matches so far this season.
